Uncorked: French warm to American style flavors

It used to be that when France's respected Burgundy wine growers had an especially hot year with ripe grapes and fat wines, they would refer to it as a "California harvest."

They didn't mean it as a compliment. They saw California chardonnays and pinot noirs as flabby "fruit bombs" with little elegance and less ability to age.

Then they discovered how popular California wines were — part of a bigger, richer, fruitier "international style" that customers loved.

Today, while no one will claim the French have come all the way over, they do speak more respectfully of warm vintages. They make richer, fuller wines, sometimes topping out at 13 percent alcohol instead of the typical 12.5 percent, with a bit more fruit and less acid.

The year 2005 was like that — warm and dry, with an early harvest producing grapes with thick skins for extra color and flavor and ripe flesh for more grape sugar. It reminded growers a bit of 2003, one of the hottest, ripest vintages in years.

Putting a fine point on it, Faiveley announced that 2005 matches its established house style: "intense, powerful but lean, and built to last."

Wine Spectator magazine loves the vintage, giving it a rating of 95 to 100 points. "The quality of the 2005 vintage for red Burgundy is stupendous," it wrote.

Founded in 1825 in the heart of the Nuits-Saint-Georges district, Domaine Faiveley has flourished under seven generations of Faiveleys, expanding into the Cote de Beaune and Cote Chalonnaise. It's big for a Burgundy house, with 296 acres producing 80 percent of its wines. (The balance are from long-term contracts with private growers.) It has two wineries, one in Mercurey, one in Nuits-Saint-Georges.

The wines give excellent value for their prices, which are pretty good compared to many top Burgundies.

Faiveley says its red wines go with pheasant, hare, duck and quail; its whites with fish en papillote or vol-au-vent in puff pastry. This could be true. But when's the last time you had that?

I like its reds with grilled meats, roast chicken and hard cheeses. As for its whites — one of the finest taste matches in the world is that all-American favorite, chicken pot pie.

Highly recommended

2005 Domaine Faiveley Nuits-Saint-Georges, (pinot noir) AOC: hint of oak, aromas of black cherries and cloves; smooth and silky; long finish; $59.

2005 Domaine Faiveley Montagny, "Domaine de la Croix Jacquelet," (chardonnay) AOC: bright, lean and crisp, with pineapple and citrus flavors: $25.

Recommended

2005 Domaine Faiveley Mercurey Premier Cru, "Clos des Myglands," (pinot noir) AOC: aromas and flavors of tart cherries and anise; ripe tannins; rich and smooth; $40.

2005 Domaine Faiveley Bourgogne Chardonnay, "Georges Faiveley," (chardonnay) AOC: hint of oak; aromas and flavors of vanilla, white peaches and citrus; rich and soft; $20.

2005 Domaine Faiveley Mercurey, "Clos Rochette," (chardonnay) AOC: rich, smooth and ripe, with tart pineapple aromas and flavors; $30.

2005 Domaine Faiveley Mercurey, "Domaine de la Criox Jacquelet," (pinot noir) AOC: black cherries and pepper; ripe tannins; long finish; $23.